


Feral Aomine

by SparklingBastard



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Animal Instincts, Established Relationship, F/M, Kemonomimi, Light Angst, Mild Blood, Minor Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya, Near Future, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Were-Creatures, aomomo - Freeform, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:55:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparklingBastard/pseuds/SparklingBastard
Summary: ”Eat. Perhaps your blood sugar levels are too low? Here, how about more meat?” Satsuki took the plate with thin sliced raw pork pieces and lifted the lid of the nabemono pot to place some of them to cook in the simmering broth.In the blink of an eye, Aomine’s hand was on the meat. He swiped the pile with one swift movement and to Satsuki’s horror, stuffed the raw meat into his mouth, his panther fangs visible.“D—Dai-chan?” she gasped, watching how Aomine’s eyes were sharp but unfocused on anything as he grinded the meat between his teeth. His hand holding the meat slices had claws and Satsuki couldn’t believe her eyes when Aomine’s panther ears popped out.Why was the animal here?
Relationships: Aomine Daiki/Momoi Satsuki
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of a continuation to the fic [The Initiation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26618281). You don’t have to read it in order to read this one. This just takes a place in the same werepeople universe.  
> I definitely didn’t write this because I love Aomine and Momoi with cute animal ears or that I’d be a kemonomimi slut, no…  
> Proofreading by Hopeassassin - thank you again dear!

Coach’s whistle blew ear piercingly in the gymnastic hall, trying to cut down the heated argument of yells and growls between Kaneko – a very promising basketball player matching the size of Murasakibara – and Aomine, the hot headed ace of the university basketball team. Except, his hot head had been boiling a bit too much and too often lately. Satsuki could feel how her heart dropped a few degrees colder when the argument started behind her back. She didn’t know what it was this time – almost didn’t care to know either – and as much as she wanted to dash to Aomine to calm him down, she knew it was better for her to stay away and let the coach handle Aomine and Kaneko. They were, after all, too big, too strong and in a way too heated state of mind for Satsuki to handle them herself.

“Dai-chan!” she called him from the bench, hoping her scolding tone would calm him down. Aomine stopped his yelling, looking at Satsuki, but when the coach pushed on with harsh words directed at him, Aomine barked a curse at the coach’s face, storming out from the hall while ripping his shirt off from himself and tossing it angrily on the floor.

Naturally, Satsuki sighed, running after him. She should apologize to Kaneko-kun later for Dai-chan’s actions. She discovered Aomine moping in the dressing room, towel thrown on his head to cover his face, shoulders slumped. She closed the door behind her quietly.

“Go away.”

“Dai-chan, what is it?”

“Nothing. Get lost.”

Satsuki came closer to Aomine, placing her palm softly on his bare shoulder. He was sweaty and hot.

“It’s not like you to go raging like this. This is… This is like back then, Dai-chan. What is it?”

Aomine growled and it wasn’t a friendly sound. Satsuki’s hand retreated from Aomine’s shoulders, her brows knitting together.

“Dai—Dai-chan?”

“I said go away,” he hissed. His tone made Satsuki feel like he was in pain of some sort. “If you don’t go, I might yell at you, too, and make you cry. Leave.”

“…Okay, I’ll go,” Satsuki agreed hesitantly. “I’ll tell the coach you’re not playing today. I’ll give you fifteen minutes to calm down and then we should go home. Okay?”

Aomine was quiet for a long, long time.

“...Fine.”

“I’ll tell Kaneko-kun that you’re sorry,” Satsuki wanted to pat his head but Aomine’s aura was so heavy around him that she concluded it was better he be left alone. With a heavy heart Satsuki returned to the team. She heard herself saying that Dai-chan was not playing and that he was sorry for the sudden commotion but in her mind, Satsuki just kept worrying about what was going on with him. His outbursts of aggression reminded her of his teenage years’ depression and if anything, Satsuki didn’t want that to happen ever again. Dai-chan didn’t deserve more years of torment, of being hated and disliked for who and what he was but if he kept baring his fangs at others and getting into heated arguments like this every day, everyone would really, really start to hate him. Satsuki decided not to bring her worry about that to Aomine. He clearly already had something weighing on his mind. She just couldn’t figure out what it was.

His aggressive outbursts had started suddenly two months after their initiation. At first, he seemed a bit irritated every now and then – mostly towards people outside his social circles. Sometimes Aomine was a bit annoying with her, too, but he never directed his anger toward her; not until this evening when he growled at her. Then, it got worse. Aomine had had some strife going on with Kagami every time they met and sometimes Satsuki caught him spitting something at Kuroko, too, but he always managed to shoot Aomine’s harsh attitude down very efficiently. Kise hadn’t gotten his share from Aomine’s anger yet due to Kise being busy with his modeling work and right now, when Satsuki returned back to the dressing room and found Aomine still moping there with a looming feeling of anger seething around him, she thought that it was perhaps for the best not to bring Kise anywhere near Aomine. His bubbly personality might just prompt Aomine’s fangs around his neck.

“Dai-chan,” Satsuki called him with the softest voice she was able to manage. “Are you ready to leave?”

He didn’t raise his head.

“Yeah. I’m hungry.”

Ah! Maybe it was a low blood sugar level! Satsuki clapped her hands together.

“I can call mom and ask her to make us nabe if we bring some ingredients from a grocery store.”

“Hmm. Sounds good.”

His answers were phlegmatic but at least he was responding. Satsuki concluded it was better than nothing. She let Aomine get dressed – which he did in an awfully slow manner – and when they headed out, he was mostly dragging his feet. Satsuki pulled an energy bar from her bag and offered it to Aomine. He took it with small thanks.

“Sorry I growled at you,” he muttered with his mouth half full.

“It’s okay. You’re just having a bad day, that’s all. But I worry that others won’t be as understanding.”

“I don’t care what they think”, Aomine hissed with a sharp biting tone. Before Satsuki could say anything, he had already changed the subject: “Nabe, you said? Should we get some pork?”

She decided to go with his flow to avoid more irritation and just smiled approvingly.

“If Dai-chan wants.”

At Satsuki’s home, Aomine looked even more tired. So tired that Satsuki’s mother got concerned about the way his face looked like. Aomine simply brushed it off as stress – which really wasn’t a lie, Satsuki could tell that – but didn’t go into any details. His miserable face made Satsuki’s mother only more determined to make enough nabemono for both of the children to eat. Satsuki said they would clean the table and put the dishes away after they had eaten. The warm nabemono tasted especially nice on slightly chilly evening but Aomine didn’t really eat the way he used to. Satsuki marked that down into her mental notebook.

“Dai-chan, you should rest,” Satsuki whispered to Aomine over the table not to make her parents in the living room too concerned. He only hummed.

“It’s fine.”

”Eat. Perhaps your blood sugar levels are too low? Mom prepared so much stuff for us to cook. Here, how about more meat?” Satsuki took the plate with thin sliced raw pork pieces and lifted the lid of the nabemono pot to place some of them to cook in the simmering broth.

In the blink of an eye, Aomine’s hand was on the meat. He swiped the pile with one swift movement and to Satsuki’s horror, stuffed the raw meat into his mouth, his panther fangs visible.

“D—Dai-chan?” she gasped, watching how Aomine’s eyes were sharp but unfocused on anything as he grinded the meat between his teeth. His hand holding the meat slices had claws and Satsuki couldn’t believe her eyes when Aomine’s panther ears popped out.

Why was the animal here?

“Daiki,” she called him by his name with a firm tone, snapping him out from his trance. Aomine’s eyes widened, the realization of what he was doing hitting him out of the blue and he spat. Spat the remaining meat on his bowl, showing his tongue out in disgust, then shakinghis head.

“Shit!”

“What are you doing?” Satsuki asked, brows knitting tighter together when she tried to reach out to touch Aomine’s forehead to see if he was sick, but he growled deeply at her, his fangs still visible.

“Do not touch me now. It’s not a good idea,” he warned her, ears flat against his blue hair. Satsuki retracted her hand back, pressing it against her chest with a shocked expression.

“Is… Is the animal?” she asked quietly, glad that their parents hadn’t heard Dai-chan coughing.

“It’s nothing to worry about. Just a bit cranky but it’s still better if you keep your distance.”

There was a thick sadness in the way Aomine said that. The way his head turned away, eyes dark and his expression full of shame that Satsuki understood that he was feeling really self-conscious about not being able to help himself from showing the mean side of the panther to her. She swallowed.

“I understand. Would you like to go out to get some fresh air?” Satsuki asked, her hands still pressed tightly against her chest. It hurt her to see Dai-chan suffering.

“Just walk me home over the street. I’ll be fine if I sleep,” Aomine replied, rising abruptly from the table and headed to the paper towel roll to clean the mess he had made with the pork slices. Satsuki helped him to clean, and after that made an excuse to her parents forDai-chan leaving so suddenly. Quietly she walked Aomine over the street, the few little steps that separated their houses from one another, keeping her distance fromAomine as he had requested. At the front gate of his house, Aomine turned around and took a look at Satsuki, his expression hurt.

“Sorry, Satsuki. I wanted to stay longer but I can’t.”

“It’s fine, Dai-chan. Your well-being is the most important thing here. Let me know if I can help you somehow, okay?”

“…I will. See you tomorrow.”

“See you. Don’t oversleep or I’ll come to pull you out from the bed myself.”

* * *

Two days after Aomine’s sudden hunger for raw meat Satsuki found out that he had been buying meat and eating it raw behind everyone’s back, and that he’d been doing that for a few days already. She begged him to go to see the university’s health care nurse just in case but Aomine brushed her concerns off, telling her it was nothing and it was his job to tame the animal now when it had awoken. Satsuki felt herself guilty for this all; after all, Dai-chan had gone through the initiation with her. After the initiation, the animal would awake with its full power but it shouldn’t affect anyone that badly. The least of all Dai-chan, she had concluded – heck, mostly she had been worried of her own Ocelot waking up too strongly and her starting to bite people in her wereanimal state – but unlike what her calculations had said, it was Dai-chan who was reacting badly to it all. She pondered if his natural monstrous power, speed and talent he utilized in the games was somehow the reason; maybe the Panther got too much energy from his body. Perhaps Dai-chan needed to be tamed?

Her ponderings got a sudden answer in Friday's practice when Aomine suddenly, without warning, let out a blood-curdling cry and attacked Kaneko, biting into his shoulder with his fangs. Satsuki watched in utter horror, calling his name when the coach and the other players rushed in to separate Aomine from Kaneko, leaving the latter bleeding heavily as raging Aomine, in his blind rage, was pushed against the floor with a struggle and was seized there by the coach and two players. When he was unable to toss and squirm under the heavy weight of multiple strong men on him Satsuki dared to run to Aomine, dropping hastily on her knees just in front of his face.

“What’s happening?!” she gasped.

“You tell me!” Kaneko yelled behind her, holding his bleeding shoulder whilst leaning against one of his team mates. “You know him best! What the hell is he doing?! Tell him the next time he attacks me I will slash his throat open!”

“Kaneko-kun!” the coach stepped in, seemingly shocked at the sudden turn of the events. Aomine under the two players and the coach growled long, very long, with an irritated tone.

Satsuki’s rapidly beating heart sank when she saw Aomine’s face. Mouth bloody, his breath dragging as he panted with gritted fangs, pupils turned into slits and eyes widened into the stare of a wild beast. His black panther ears stood up and he growled like an untamed animal, eyes fixated on something no one else could see. Satsuki’s hand trembled as she petted his hair, afraid he would bite her.

“It’s okay, Dai-chan. I’m here. Satsuki. It’s okay.”

She hoped her voice was soothing enough. He kept staring at the invisible spot – or an enemy – and panting heavily

“All was well until you got here! We were playing just normally and then boom, Aomine-kun got all crazy!” Kaneko kept crying, his finger pointing at Satsuki. Satsuki snapped back at him immediately.

“Shut up, Kaneko-kun! If it was my fault, I would have predicted this happening!”

Their disagreement awoke something in Aomine. His mouth opened and he let out another growl accompanied with a hiss, his head pressing tighter against the floor as the back of his neck hair stood up, growing longer and turning into a thin mane running under his shirt between his shoulders. He was summoning the Panther up and Satsuki knew she had to act fast.

“Dai-chan! Dai-chan! It’s okay! Listen, I’m fine. All’s fine. Kaneko-kun is okay, too,” she lied about Kaneko. “I’m here. Dai-chan…” She petted his head and rubbed his soft fuzzy ears, praying it would help him somehow to come back.

“Tamura-kun, take Kaneko-kun to the nurse, she should still be in, and bring me a sedative,” the coach told the guy who was helping shocked Kaneko to stand up.

“No! I can calm Dai-chan down!”

The coach gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing. He was struggling to keep Aomine down, who growled angrily as a protest of having extra added pressure on his back.

“Tamura-kun goes and gets the sedative and if you haven’t calmed Aomine-kun down by that time, I’ll give him the shot. I will not have someone like Aomine-kun go rampaging in a feral state and I will especially not let him do that in a full wereperson state.”

She didn’t want to believe that the situation was that serious but when Satsuki heard those words from the coach, they sank into her like daggers. She knew it was the truth. Aomine wasn’t able to control the animal side now and if he was to be let loose to transform into his werepanther form, he could cause too much damage. Even kill someone. Perhaps get killed himself if he escaped the hall somehow and got off the university premises. 

Satsuki dropped hastily on all fours in front of Aomine’s face, trying to reach his eyes with hers.

“Dai-chan, you have to stop! You already hurt Kaneko-kun! You can’t hurt others!”

His tail popped out, its tip trashing against the hard floor. She tried a different approach.

“Dai-chan, calm down. Calm down. It’s fine,” Satsuki whispered to him softly, trying if she could touch his temple and stroke him with long, soothing movements of her hand. She was able to do that, but it didn’t have any effect on him. The time seemed just to fly by because sooner than Satsuki wanted, Tamura had returned with a box of sedatives. Satsuki had no other choice than to back up. She couldn’t describe the feeling of how horrible her stomach felt, how it wrenched her gut to realize that she hadn’t been able to help Aomine. She watched helplessly as Tamura assisted the coach to ready the sedative shot, listened to how they made a plan of how to best to give Aomine the injection so that he wouldn’t escape when they moved their positions on him, and followed how Aomine protested very, very loudly when the needle hit him, straight to the side of his neck. Satsuki swallowed a sob, reaching to stroke his hair. Her forlorn eyes never left Aomine’s face as his expression softened, eyes closing slowly and soon, he was out cold. The teammates turned him around on his back and Satsuki returned fully to his side, trying to fight down the flood of sobs.

“I’m so sorry, everyone. I’m so, so sorry, Dai-chan. I don’t know what’s going on,” she hiccupped, petting Aomine’s head. “He’s never done anything like this. This is not like him. I’m so sorry, I should have seen this coming as someone who knows Dai-chan the best and yet...!” She took a hold of his lifeless hand and squeezed it, not being able to hold back the tears any longer.

“We’re not blaming you, Momoi-chan. No one saw this coming. We’ll let a doctor check Aomine-kun up. Can you stay behind for a control report?” the coach asked, dialing up the number for an ambulance.

Satsuki’s shoulders slumped. Dai-chan would get a report mark of a violent, uncontrolled animal activity against another wereperson outside the heat. That was not good. That would stain his reputation as a player and affect his future for the next five years until his report would get cleaned if he didn’t act violently again. Satsuki’s heart weighed like a ton of ice by now. She should have seen this coming. Should have prevented this from happening. She should have taken better care of him because this was Dai-chan, and Dai-chan was an idiot she should never let out from her sight just because something like this could happen if she did.

Satsuki nodded at the coach with a sob.

“I’ll stay. I’m sorry, Dai-chan.”


	2. The Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mild violence but I assume you are okay with it as you're reading an M-rated fic tagged properly.

While Aomine was unable to avoid getting a mark on his personal report, to Satsuki’s relief Kaneko’s family brushed the thing off as an accident and didn’t press any charges. Another strike of luck was that the coach didn’t bench Aomine but said he could play if he was healthy. However, Aomine wasn’t happy. Satsuki could tell. After getting back from the health center he skipped classes and shut himself in his room, avoiding both his team and Satsuki. She tried to visit Aomine right after his return, but his mother told her she shouldn’t go into his room and it was the best if everyone gave Dai-chan some space. And, surely enough, when Satsuki knocked on his door and called his name, Aomine growled and then replied with a shaky voice that it was the best if she stayed away from him. 

She couldn’t understand what was wrong and to her horror neither did the Aomines’ trusted family doctor, who paid Daiki a visit – Satsuki heard that bit of news from her mother. He had run some tests on Aomine together with the healthcare center’s tests but couldn’t find anything alarming. Satsuki didn’t know what the suspected diagnosis was, but she would ask that directly from Dai-chan himself when he was feeling better.

When Aomine finally emerged out from his room after hiding there for days like a wounded animal, he went straight to Satsuki’s care. Waited for her to return from school in front of his house and when he spotted Satsuki at the end of their street, he rushed there and pulled her into a tight embrace, all to her complete surprise.

“Dai-chan? Are you feeling better?” she asked, stroking his back. He nuzzled closer to her, rubbing his head against hers.

“Yeah. I got some medicine.”

Satsuki didn’t like that answer.

“Is it hormonal, like I suspect?”

“Hmm,” Aomine hummed, hugging her tighter, still nuzzling her. “The doc said that sometimes it takes a while for the hormones to find their balance and that kind of shit after the initiation. Looks like mine are a bit haywire now, but the doc gave me some pills to balance it.”

She hugged him warmly, holding him.

“That’s… That’s good, Dai-chan.”

“The fuck it is!” he hissed. His head buried into Satsuki’s neck with a disappointed click of his tongue. “I can’t advance with my basketball if the medication stays for too long. You know that.”

“No one’s saying that it would---”

“The coach might not let me play,” Aomine muttered. “I fucking bit Kaneko and the medication can affect my play. This is exactly why I wanted us to go the initiation through together as soon as possible so that I wouldn’t have to stuff myself with fake hormones. What will we do in the upcoming matches if I can’t play normally? I need to face Kise, Akashi and Kagami with Tetsu.”

“Dai-chan, I’m sure it will be alright,” Satsuki soothed him, pulling her body out from his embrace. She cupped his sour looking face between her palms. “Don’t worry. There’s still enough time for the cup.”

“Only a few weeks.”

“Dai-chan, I was thinking about the spring cup,” Satsuki mumbled, eyebrows knitting together into a worried expression. “I can’t, I just simply can’t, let you play in the winter cup. We can’t predict what could happen. If you lose it again despite the medication and injure someone of the really important players, like Kagamin, it’s all over, Dai-chan. I don’t think Kagamin’s rich parents will take it well if their son is attacked… Or Ki-chan! He’s a model! He’s earning his money with his face and body! If you damage Ki-chan, you will make him unemployed. So, no playing in the Winter Cup, Dai-chan. I simply can’t allow you to do that.”

Aomine listened to Satsuki with narrowed eyes, lips pressed together into a thin line. Then he sighed, his chin pressing down.

“You’re right,” he swallowed, clearly disappointed with the facts which were laid bare in front of him. “I’ll concentrate on training and ask the coach to leave me out for now. I’ll get myself back together till spring. I want to play.”

“That’s my Dai-chan,” Satsuki chirped happily, kissing him on his lips without caring if anyone would see them. “But, we could go to watch the games, if you like?”

“If the medication works.” Aomine straightened his back with a sigh, raking his hair with his fingers. “I don’t need any more report markings…”

“...How bad a mark did you get?” Satsuki asked after a short moment of hesitation. She hadn’t asked that from anyone else yet as she wanted to hear it from Dai-chan himself. Another deep sigh left his lips.

“It’s not as bad as it could be but…”

“But the coach can decline you from the spring cup?”

“I’m hoping he won’t do that if I sit out the Winter Cup like you suggested and show him that I can control myself. I’ll be fine till spring. No, sooner than that.” He offered Satsuki a reassuring smile. “The Health and Protection officer woman told me that this is like a yellow card in football. They concluded that because I’m young and just gone through the initiation, they should let me go with a warning, because sometimes it takes time for the beast to balance itself with the human side. I can get another yellow card warning and if a third time happens, then it is the red card and a real marking on my papers. Like with adults outside the heat - though they get the red card immediately.”

Satsuki’s body relaxed after that news. She hadn’t even realized how tense she had been until now.

“Then we just have to make sure you won’t get that. It’s so relieving to hear that you didn’t get a full mark! I was so worried,” she breathed out, head tilting to her side with eyes closed.

“Well, you should be. I’m your boyfriend after all.” Aomine smirked the way he always did when he was happy. It was a blessed sight to Satsuki, after the recent torment she had been witnessing. She took his hand and started to walk towards her home.

“You’re not eating raw meat anymore, are you?”

“Doctor said I should eat it but in controlled doses until the craving goes away. Sometimes it helps to soothe the beast when it awakes fully the first time.”

“…They’re very primal, aren’t they? Those animal versions of us,” Satsuki mumbled thoughtfully, her gaze at her feet. Aomine hummed in agreement, his eyes on Satsuki.

“I guess. You’re dealing with the Ocelot well?” he asked, squeezing her hand with another smile. “That’s my girl. I knew you could do it.”

Satsuki couldn’t help the rush of a deep blush rising up to her face. Dai-chan rarely complimented anyone but when he did, he really meant it. He was honestly the best mate Satsuki could have ever asked for herself – and she was determined to help Dai-chan go through this awakening without getting any more report markings.

* * *

Aomine’s medication seemed to work well, to everyone’s delight and relief. The week after he started the medication all was going smoothly. Aomine only complained that the medication made him tired and nauseous at times, but Satsuki was happy he followed the doctor’s order nevertheless. She did notice that he was still a bit tired, seeking out Satsuki’s warm body for comforting pets, snuggles and strokes whenever he had an opportunity for that. Aomine nuzzled, cuddled, threw himself over her and wanted to touch her a lot and Satsuki let him. After all, he was still more or less sick and clearly extremely sad deep within that he was so weak against his inner beast. He was good at hiding it from everyone else except his family and Satsuki, though he tried really hard and she pretended not to notice it, playing along with his pretending. However, it was Kuroko who spotted something in Aomine that Satsuki hadn’t noticed herself.

“Momoi-san, have you noticed that Aomine-san is marking you?”

Satsuki’s milkshake’s straw dropped out from her mouth.

“Wh—what?” she wheezed.

“Momoi-san smells like Aomine-kun. He was rubbing his head against you when you came here.”

“That’s… That’s not it. I told you Dai-chan is sick and needs some comfort. I think he might be a bit nervous around Kagamin and seek some comfort from me so that he doesn’t get irritated,” Satsuki explained, turning to look at Aomine at the queue line to Maji Burger. He had wanted to eat more and Kagami had joined him, heading to get some dessert for himself. They seemed to get along simply fine, discussing something with each other Satsuki couldn’t hear.

“Hmm, perhaps that’s the case,” Kuroko said, also turning to look in Aomine’s direction. “Just a thought, Momoi-san.”

“Well, Dai-chan and I are together so it would make sense that he wants to be close to me and have his scent on me. You know how Dai-chan can be,” Satsuki smiled, her eyes a bit melancholic. She whirled her two-colored straw in her drink, keeping her chin down from Kuroko.

“It’s good that he’s looking so well after you.”

“How are things with Kagamin?”

Kuroko leaned back in his seat, smiling shyly.

“All is well. Kagami-kun is a bit scared of his Tiger now when he has gotten a taste of its true power but otherwise we’re doing fine.”

Satsuki’s ears perked up. She leaned hastily over the table closer to Kuroko.

“Has Kagamin had any problems with his awakening?”

“Nothing like Aomine-kun,” Kuroko gestured at Aomine, who was now in front of the counter. “He’s just a bit amazed how much more power and strength he has now. It shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s in a very good condition and probably one of the best Tigers in Japan but of course, Kagami-kun is quite modest. Almost shy, if I may. It’s a surprise only to himself.”

“Hmmm, it makes sense why Dai-chan was so miffed with him before he got his medication,” Satsuki pondered, taking a sip from her milkshake.

“Very likely. Sometimes it’s a bit too hazardous to place two strong males in the same room, especially if they’re not in a balance with their animal.”

“….Like what happened with Kaneko-kun and Dai-chan,” Satsuki sighed sadly, leaning against her elbow. “I should have factored that in with my calculations, but I failed. I feel so bad, Tetsu-kun.”

“Aomine-kun would never blame you for that,” Kuroko soothed her, reaching out to her palm on top of the table and giving it a warm squeeze.

“Tetsu.”

An icy hiss interrupted the comforting moment. Aomine stood next to the table with his tray, eyes intensely nailed on Kuroko. Kuroko smiled at him, letting go of Satsuki and leaning back into his seat.

“I see you must be feeling better, Aomine-kun. That pile is impressive after how much you just ate,” Kuroko said pointing at the three triple burgers and fries with an XL-size drink.

“Can’t help it. I’ve been nauseous as shit lately but today I’m feeling good,” Aomine shrugged, back to his calm self.

“That’s good, Aomine-kun. Guess your body is getting used to the medication.”

“It better fucking do.” His tone was bitter. Kuroko’s attention turned to Satsuki once more.

“How about you, Momoi-san? How are you feeling yourself? You had a longer waiting period till the initiation than Aomine-kun.”

“Oh, I’m fine. All’s good. I was worried I couldn’t handle the animal but I’m doing a lot better now.”

“Well, she nearly bit me in the initiation,” Aomine casually remarked between his munching, all to Satsuki’s embarrassment. She blushed up to her ears instantly, turning to Aomine with a shocked expression.

“Dai-chan…!”

“It’s okay, Momoi-san. I almost scratched Kagami-kun’s face really badly. We’ve been joking since then that he would have come to be known as the One Eyed Player Who Jumped So High Once That He Lost One of His Eyes In That Speed,” Kuroko grinned, an odd expression on his usually calm poker face.

“What kind of a ridiculously long name that is?!” Aomine grunted, amused.

“Better than Had His Eye Clawed Out By His Heat Partner,” Kuroko reasoned with a deadpan face, causing Aomine to laugh more. Satsuki’s lips turned up with her chuckle, too.

“What did I miss?” Kagami asked, puzzled, when he finally arrived back with some ice-cream and apple pie.

“We were just talking about how I almost scratched you and how Momoi-san almost bit Aomine-kun,” Kuroko answered, snatching one of Kagami’s ice-creams. “I’ll eat a bit of this, if it’s okay? I’m too full for a full dessert but I want some ice-cream.”

“You almost bit him?” Kagami gasped at Satsuki, his voice more or less amazed. Satsuki fidgeted in her seat bashfully.

“Ah well, the animal’s power took me off guard and the initiation drink didn’t really help the cause…”

“Hmm, I remember dad saying that if you’re not used to the animal’s power, it can overtake you suddenly in the heat. That’s why they have sedatives in the initiation places and everything’s bullet proof,” Kagami told, dipping his apple pie in the soft ice-cream. “But you? Biting Aomine? That’s an amusing thought. You’re half his size.”

“Ocelots can be vicious, just so you know,” Satsuki spoke to Kagami with an overly dramatic tone. It drew a hearty laugh from him, a bit too loud for the crowded burger place.

“I forgot you’re an Ocelot! I thought you were a Panther like Aomine. Oh man, now the thought of you biting him with your tiny needle teeth is even more funny.”

Kuroko chuckled at that, too, though he tried to keep his face straight.

“I must admit, it is a funny thought, Kagami-kun.”

“Tetsu-kun swatting your face with his cute Silver Fox paws is really funny, too.” It was Satsuki’s turn to laugh at her mental image.

Aomine joined their laughter with a short chuckle, then concentrating back on his food. He looked calm and pleased. In her mind and heart, Satsuki was thankful to see her old Dai-chan being back. The medication worked and Aomine would get off with the warning only. He would rest and get used to the medication, and then, when the spring arrived, he would be able to play again. She hadn’t shared it with Aomine but despite the commotion he had caused, the guys on his team missed him when she supervised their practices.

All was so very, very well.

They finished their food and headed out, deciding to take the same way to the station where they would take different metro lines to each of their homes – though Kuroko mentioned heading to Kagami’s. He was practically living there and keeping Kagami company. Satsuki found that heart-warming – that Kuroko had found his other half and it was no one else than the sweetheart Kagamin – but Aomine’s arm boldly around her shoulder as they waited for the first line to arrive was even more heart-warming to Satsuki. She really didn’t want to move from Aomine’s hold when their metro got there first.

Kuroko bid his goodbyes to Aomine and Momoi, keeping his distance from them. Naturally Kagami had already noticed this and followed Kuroko’s example. When Aomine and Satsuki had left, Kagami pushed his hands down to his jacket’s pockets.

“Aomine is very possessive over Momoi.”

“So, you noticed the same. I told Momoi-san that Aomine-kun was marking her, but she didn’t really believe me. She said it’s only Aomine-kun being nervous around you until he can be sure that the medication really works.”

Kagami bit his lip, thinking.

“You’re really not supposed to mark your partner outside the courting time, you know…” he muttered.

Kuroko’s head turned up to Kagami.

“You’re right. But it seems Momoi-san is alright with it. It’s not that Aomine-kun would be a bad person or dangerous to Momoi-san. There’s no safer place for her to be than next to him,” Kuroko explained. “I think Aomine-kun is still a bit confused with the animal awakening. I guess that’s why he’s performing pre-heat formalities. Perhaps he hasn’t even noticed it himself.”

“I feel quite sorry for him. I never took Aomine for someone who would struggle with his animal like this.”

Kuroko smiled at the genuine concern carrying in Kagami’s voice.

“Aomine-kun is very sensitive. I’d say the most sensitive and the most emotionally wired out of us all. Perhaps it’s the reason why he’s struggling now. I’m not going to lie, Kagami-kun; I am worried for him.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ve never heard of anyone biting their teammate in a rage like that. I’m a little concerned he might bite Momoi…”

“Don’t worry, Kagami-kun. Aomine-kun would never hurt Momoi-san.”

* * *

It was a Sunday evening when Satsuki noticed that Aomine looked pale in her lap. She brushed his hair away from his temple while his head rested on her thigh.

“You’re pale.”

“I’ve been nauseous,” he replied shortly, concentrating on his game on his phone.

“…Have you thrown up?” Satsuki was afraid to ask that. Aomine huffed.

“It’s not a big deal. Just a side effect. It goes away,” he muttered, sounding almost hurt that Satsuki thought he couldn’t look after himself. He took a look at her face, turning on his back. His nose wrinkled when he saw the worried look she had.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not dying or anything.”

“I can’t help but worry, Dai-chan,” she defended herself, playing softly with his hair. “I can tell something is wrong.”

“It’s nothing you should worry about, Satsuki. I promise. I’m good. The medication works despite its side effects and when the adjusting period is over, I can drop the medication and be back to my own self. The Panther will not take control of me. The only one beating me is me.”

He was so convincing with his speech that Satsuki couldn’t hold down a small smile. She nodded at Aomine, stroking his hair more. She should trust him more. He was a grown man. When he made a promise, he kept it. And now, when she looked into his blue eyes, she saw determination in them. A promise.

She would help Aomine get through this time and by the spring’s games, Dai-chan would be back to normal and ready to go.

* * *

Satsuki didn’t know what exactly had happened that time and judging from the cry that had left Kuroko, he hadn’t any idea of what had happened either. She had accompanied Aomine to play with Kagami and Kuroko a bit at the outdoor court near Kagami’s house. It was November and the evenings were already chilly. She had accepted mittens from Kagami when her hands were cold from just standing aside and watching the guys play. As soon as she got the mittens with a warm smile from Kagami, Aomine was there – his fangs sinking through Kagami’s sports jacket on his shoulder with an animalistic growl as he charged at Kagami with all his strength. Satsuki cried, Kuroko yelled and Kagami cursed him but none of them had time to reach when Aomine lunged forward and sank his teeth in Kagami’s neck, biting down in an intent to suffocate him. Kagami gurgled, falling backwards whilst losing his balance, pulling Aomine down with him.

“Kagami-kun!” Kuroko cried, horrified.

”Dai-chan!” Satsuki shrieked, hands over her mouth. She was unable to move for a second, her legs frozen at the sight. Kagami struggled to push Aomine off from him while gasping for air, while Aomine pushed forward with a tight grip, growling with his hair standing up at the back of his head. It wasn’t until Kuroko moved and literally kicked Aomine on the head to get him off from Kagami that Satsuki found her legs again. She rushed to the scene, yanking Aomine off from the ground and away from Kagami by his hood, calling his name.

“Dai-chan, stop! What are you doing?!” she yelled, pulling him away from Kagami with all her might, not caring if the collar of his hoodie sank into his neck or not.

Kagami was kicking himself further away from Aomine, Kuroko helping him to move. His hand was covered with blood and his breathing wheezed.

“I’m going to call an ambulance. Kagami-kun, hang in there.”

Satsuki broke into tears. Her shoulders trembled and she couldn’t find any strength to keep pulling Aomine with her anymore.

“Dai-chan, you idiot! Look what you did!” she yelled over her tears at him. Aomine groaned, shaking his head.

“Wha---What happened?” he muttered, holding his forehead. His head rose up and he saw Kagami, bleeding and pale on the ground, holding his neck while gasping for air. All the color left Aomine’s face and he struggled to push himself to his feet, lips parted.

“Kagami? What’s going on?” he asked, taking a step closer but Kuroko stopped him in his tracks with the most murderous growl any of them had ever heard coming from him.

“Not a step closer, Aomine-kun, or I will bite you! If anything happens to Kagami-kun because of you----”

Kuroko didn’t finish that sentence. He answered the questions for the ambulance. Aomine’s hands started to tremble uncontrollably. He swallowed, realizing then that his mouth tasted horrible. He spat on the ground, horrified when it was blood that came out from his mouth.

“I….I bit Kagami?”

“Dai-chan, you jerk!” Satsuki was crying behind Aomine. “You said you’re taking your medication!”

“I am!” Aomine barked, his expression shocked. His whole body was shaking. “I’m fucking taking every single dose. I… The Panther shouldn’t… This shouldn’t have happened…”

Kagami tried to say something but he couldn’t. The way he sounded, coughing, twisted Aomine’s stomach. He dropped on his fours, pressing his head against the sand.

“I didn’t mean it, Tetsu. I didn’t mean it,” he wailed with tears in his eyes. “You must believe me, Tetsu. I wasn’t trying to kill Kagami.”

“No, you didn’t, but the Pather did.” Kuroko’s voice was icy. It made Aomine sob, curling into a tighter space.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Aomine defended himself, eyes wide from realization of what really, really was going on. “Satsuki, you have to believe me.”

“Dai-chan, you’ll get another mark. Maybe the red one because you aimed at Kagami’s neck,” Satsuki cried with Aomine, too afraid to touch him. Instead, she walked to Kagami with wobbly legs and dropped down to her knees. She took a hold of his cold hand, apologizing the best way she ever could.

“Forgive me, Kagamin. I should have been able to stop Dai-chan. Please, forgive me and Dai-chan. Please, Kagamin, don’t die…” she sobbed into his hand, unable to stop herself from crying.

She ignored Aomine’s pained cry and how he hit the ground with his fists in a desperate fury, crying at the top of his lungs for the mistake he had made.

She had to stay behind for another control report and a police investigation.


	3. Muzzle

Satsuki watched helplessly from her room’s window how the Aomines’ car returned to their parking slot and how Dai-chan emerged from the vehicle, head pressed down under his dark hoodie. She knew they had gone to discuss Aomine's onslaught with their family doctor, an insurance company and Kagami’s teams’ representatives – perhaps Alex would be pulled into this mess, too. She was afraid of the conviction Aomine would get. At its worst, his sport career would be over before it even started properly. Or, maybe the worst scenario actually was that Tetsu-kun and Kagamin would turn their backs on him completely. She couldn’t blame either one of them if they did so but she prayed that Kagamin and Tetsu would see the same as she; that Dai-chan was sick and unable to keep his animal in check. He had no ill will against Kagamin.

She wanted to go to Dai-chan right now, rush into his arms to hug him, but Satsuki just couldn’t. It was the best that the family handled this together for now. She would speak with Dai-chan tomorrow after school – if he was even allowed to go there right now.

The next day Aomine didn’t come to school and Satsuki concluded that perhaps the first time ever Dai-chan was not happy about needing to stay home for a school day. He always complained to her how he didn’t even get sick or suffer from headaches and get days off from school like she occasionally did. And Satsuki was right with her hunch; when she entered Aomine’s house and found him in his room, his expression was far from happy. He was sulking, eyes dull and he barely even noticed her entering.

Satsuki’s eyes nailed on something on Aomine’s desk.

A muzzle.

“Dai-chan, how are you?” she asked, ignoring the cold shiver from the sight of the medical muzzle used for aggressive patients. She sat next to him and Aomine heaved, curling to rest his head in her lap. He looked pale.

“I feel like shit,” he croaked, his voice underlining his comment with an unusual rasp tone.

She petted him softly, letting her palm run from the top of his head down to his neck and up to the curve of his shoulder.

“You look like shit,” Satsuki commented, hoping to humor him. “What did the doctor say?”

Aomine grumbled.

“The medication didn’t work because of the nausea. I’ve been throwing up half of the medication. They changed the brand and now I need to take these shots.”

Satsuki’s lips pressed tightly together. She hoped Aomine didn’t sense her nervousness.

“And the muzzle?”

Aomine grumbled again.

“Just a safety measure until the shots work.”

Satsuki didn’t know whether she should ask the next question or not. But she did.

“What kind of mark did they give you?”

Aomine heaved, curling into a tighter bundle.

“A yellow one. They would have given me a red mark for aggression if it wasn’t caused by this… this fucking condition I have,” he spat. “The doctor really saved my ass there.”

Satsuki petted Aomine’s hair more, chewing her lip.

“…And Kagamin?” she finally whispered, afraid of his answer. She noticed how Aomine’s jaw tensed but otherwise he kept his composure. He shifted a bit.

“Didn’t see him,” he muttered. His eyes narrowed into a dark expression of guilt. “I bet Tetsu hates me now.”

“I’m sure Tetsu-kun understands,” Satsuki offered but couldn’t really put enough reassurance into her words for either one of their comfort. She couldn’t promise Aomine that he wouldn’t be hated for what he did.

“I’m not allowed to go to school or practices for a week and after that I need to wear the muzzle. The doc said that that if I’m clean after those two weeks, then the medication is working and I can ditch that torture device,” Aomine changed the subject, his expression letting Satsuki know that the possibility of getting the hate of Tetsu and Kagamin raining on him was hurting Aomine. Really, really hurting.

“Are you under house arrest?” Satsuki petted his hair more.

“I can go out if I wear the muzzle. I can’t take it off myself with its safety mechanism, so I have to ask mom or dad to do it.”

“I’ll do it for you, too.”

Aomine chuckled forlornly, patting Satsuki’s palm on his temple gently.

“I know. You’re always there for me. Even in shit like this.”

“That’s what girlfriends are for,” Satsuki smiled at him.

He offered her a small sad grin but didn’t say anything.

* * *

Satsuki could feel her hands trembling when the door in front of her finally opened, despite her fear of it not opening. Not now or ever. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and its pace just increased when Kagami’s surprised face greeted her from the doorway.

“Kagamin,” she managed to say despite her trembling trying to get its hold on her voice. “I’m sorry that I’m here this suddenly. D—Dai-chan’s with me but he’s waiting in the front yard… so… don’t worry about it.”

Kagami eyed Satsuki slowly. Her eyes caught the heavy looking bandage around his neck. She tried to smile.

“May I come in?”

“Sure,” Kagami said, a bit too casually for Satsuki’s comfort but she couldn’t blame Kagamin if her face irked him. She stayed in the mudroom without taking her shoes off or getting inside the house. Kagami stopped on his heels and turned to look over his shoulder.

“You’re not coming in?” he asked, his voice thin and hoarse. Satsuki’s heart sank.

“No. I’m not planning on staying.”

Kagami stepped to stand at the edge of the step leading into his apartment. Satsuki had to crane her neck to see his face. He was so much taller while standing on that step. Somehow menacing. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the wound Aomine had given him. Her lips trembled.

“I’m sorry!” she yelped, bowing down to Kagami, ignoring his gasp. “I should have kept a better eye on Dai-chan! I’m so sorry, Kagamin!”

Kagami didn’t have time to react when Satsuki was already on the floor on her knees, head pressed down to the floor, her body barely fitting the small space to perform a perfect begging bow.

“Please, don’t sue Dai-chan!” she cried against the cold wooden floor, hoping Kagami wouldn’t see how much her shoulders trembled under her puffy pink jacket. “Please, Dai-chan is not an evil person. He’s sick. He wouldn’t attack anyone like that if he was healthy. I shouldn’t have taken your mittens. It’s my fault.”

“Wow, wow, enough!” Kagami croaked, stumbling down from the step. Satsuki felt how he snaked his hand under her armpits and lifted her up. She couldn’t look at him – not that she would have even been able to see Kagami through her giant tears.

“I’m not taking your apology, Momoi. You have done nothing wrong. If someone wants to apologize, it better be that Ahomine who drags his ass here,” Kagami spoke. Satsuki could hear that it was difficult for him.

“How much damage did Dai-chan do?” she whispered, afraid of the answer.

“I’ll have to take a month off from practices and games but otherwise I’ll survive. Might leave a scar or two, though.”

“Good…” Satsuki sighed, still trembling. “I was so afraid. Of everything...”

“How is he?” Kagami asked, his voice serious.

Satsuki swallowed.

“Dai-chan got a new medication. The earlier one didn’t work because it made him throw up. He takes shots now and has to wear a muzzle for the next two weeks whenever he’s outside.” She took a small pause, mulling over if she should tell Kagami just how badly the incident had affected Aomine. “Dai-chan’s been crying. A lot.”

“He’s outside now, right?” Kagami asked, his hands placed on Satsuki’s shoulders. Her head shot up. “Call him here. I want to talk.”

Satsuki nodded and did as Kagami wished. Aomine arrived at Kagami's door, looking like he was about to get beaten up when he got inside. Satsuki could tell that he had shed a few tears.

“Aomine, I know it was not you who bit me. It was your animal side because of this sickness you have and because your meds didn’t work. Momoi told me,” Kagami said first, without even greeting Aomine. Aomine stared at him with a stony glare, hands in his jacket’s pockets. “If you two think I’m suing you, think again. I can’t lose such a good rival as you. Such a good player as you. That would be a loss for the whole basketball scene, and I know you love basketball as much as I do.”

Aomine’s eyes narrowed, his chin tilting slightly down. Satsuki took a hold of his arm, her teary eyes on Kagami, who kept his poker face despite the bashful blush on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat shortly after speaking so much.

“I want to play with you and against you. And, let’s be honest; the beast was just trying to protect Momoi. You’re a good partner, Aomine.”

Aomine’s narrow eyes shot open. Then he turned his head hastily away from Kagami with an audible sniff.

He didn’t deserve to be praised like that.

Kagami patted his shoulder brotherly, giving Aomine a tiny awkward smile.

“Come to play with me when we’re both back in the game. Okay?” Kagami asked, his voice gentle and encouraging.

Aomine’s eyes shifted quickly to Kagami’s injury. He did his best to keep the tears away, but he couldn’t. His voice, however, didn’t come out even when he wanted it to. Thus, Aomine only nodded slowly, unable to look at Kagami. Satsuki’s hold around his arm tightened and she let out the muffled cry Aomine himself was holding back.

The muzzle made crying even worse.

* * *

At the school, Aomine’s muzzle got his earlier bad boy reputation skyrocketing. Satsuki noticed this from the way girls’ eyes followed Aomine with worried looks, and how the guys gave him more space and also avoided going too close to Satsuki. Even some of the teachers seemed to be more alert when someone as tall and big as Aomine with a muzzle was present in their class. After all, the muzzle was a mark that he had been aggressive towards someone and injured them enough for the Control Department to conclude that for everyone’s safety, the muzzle was a must.

Satsuki spent as much time with Aomine at school as possible because while Dai-chan didn’t usually mind being left alone – he actually preferred that – she could tell everyone’s avoidance was hurting him. His eyes were sad and his expression mostly blank throughout the days. She never brought it up, but it reminded her of their junior high years when Aomine was feared on the basketball court. She hoped that wouldn’t happen again.

In secrecy Satsuki managed to inform all the players in their team that they shouldn’t be afraid of Aomine but it was easier said than done. Kaneko didn’t hide his sour face and kept his distance from Aomine – who, in return, didn’t really hide his disgust for being treated like some beast by Kaneko. Satsuki could only hope things would work out when Aomine’s medication started working the way it should and Kaneko would see that he was safe around him.

There was one incident in the very first days after Aomine returned to school when one of the familiar faces from hyenas’ clan got a bit too close to Satsuki and Aomine growled at him, horrified when he caught himself doing so. The hyena-guy got the message and a word for everyone to stay the hell away from Satsuki started to spread in the university. She tried to calm such rumors down and assure everyone that Dai-chan was just a bit cranky and wouldn’t be hostile towards anyone, but not many believed her. Some of the girls Satsuki knew started to worriedly inquire if Aomine was treating her well and was she herself safe? What if Aomine bit her? Every single time it was brought up Satsuki got offended, mostly on Aomine’s behalf, and loudly made it clear that Dai-chan wasn’t some horrible jerk but a gentle and sensitive individual who valued her well-being. 

The rumors of Aomine growling and snarling at Satsuki increased more rumors. Whispers. Odd stares. Satsuki heard many times that she smelled like Aomine and she defended him, saying that it was natural because they spend so much time together. Soon someone started to spread a rumor that Aomine was simply going to murder anyone getting too close to her because he was marking her, surely, he was, and Satsuki couldn’t believe her ears. Apparently the rumors somehow affected the basketball coach, too, as he made a decision to keep Aomine away from the practices for two and a half weeks, just in case.

Satsuki was still fuming with full strength when she sank into the hot water filled bath tube at her home’s upstairs bathroom after the long school week. Like, how could people be so mean to Dai-chan? So blind? So rude? Dai-chan was a good guy and it hurt him when those evil rumors echoed from one mouth to another, even when he hid it well behind his non-caring façade. Maybe Dai-chan should just skip the next week and return back to school when he was free from the muzzle and the medication worked for sure? She couldn’t believe that she was thinking about suggesting skipping a week from school to Dai-chan!

She heard the door leading to the dressing room opening.

“You can take the laundry, mom,” she yelled at the footsteps there, rubbing the warm water on her face.

“Do your own damn laundry,” replied a voice that was definitely not Mrs. Momoi’s.

“Eh, Dai-chan?”

He didn’t reply to Satsuki. After a few seconds Aomine paraded in the bathroom naked and without the muzzle. Satsuki concluded he probably was alright not wearing it at his home and at the Momois.

“I’m cold,” he muttered, fishing the washing stool from the corner of the bathroom. Satsuki stared at Aomine with her mouth open for a little while, until she smiled, humming softly.

“The water is not as hot as you like it, though. I didn’t know you’d join me.”

“Auntie said you were in the bath so,” Aomine simply replied, turning the shower on.

“You can borrow dad’s shampoo and soap, unless you want to smell like a peach like me. My washing cloth is---”

“---the purple one with hearts, I remember,” Aomine finished the sentence, the purple fabric already in his hand. Satsuki leaned against her arms at the edge of the bathtub.

“Want me to wash your back?” she asked, inspecting how Aomine was just a way too tall for the shower stool to sit comfortably on it. He hummed in agreement.

“Here,” he gave the washing cloth to Satsuki and dragged himself with the stool to sit in front of her. She reached out to wash his back, humming happily as she did.

“This reminds me of our childhood baths together. We always played so long in the tub. Pirates and treasure hunters and mermaids and sea monsters. Once you were a typhoon and tossed all the toys all around the bathroom and spilled half of the water on the floor.”

“I remember that.”

“Actually, you were a typhoon quite often…”

He lifted his arm up in the air so Satsuki could scrub his side. “Typhoons were cool when I was a kid. Now they are just a nuisance.”

“…Dai-chan, about a nuisance…” Satsuki began, her scrubbing pace slowing down. “I was thinking that perhaps it would be best if you rested the next week. You should come back to school when you don’t need the muzzle. It seems to… scare people…”

“I’ve fucking noticed. They’re behaving like middle-schoolers,” Aomine huffed angrily, reaching for the shower. Satsuki gave the washing cloth back to him.

“I don’t want you to get stressed, Dai-chan. Hormonal balance is important, and I worry the medication will not work properly if you are under a lot of stress.”

“And send you out there alone to be shredded in pieces?”

“I can take the rumors,” Satsuki sighed, leaning back to lay in the bathtub. “Nothing exciting ever happens at our school except for the basketball victories so people are now a bit too much into this whole thing, Dai-chan. I can ignore them. I know where we stand with you. We’re good. I know who you are and what you are, and you are a good guy, Dai-chan.”

Aomine washed his hair with quick, annoyed movements of his hands.

“Fucking idiots thinking I’ll eat them alive or that I’d hurt you. Assholes…” he grumbled, his hands moving faster.

“Let’s just ignore them,” Satsuki waved her hand, sighing again. “The more we fight the rumors, the more people insist that we have something to hide.”

With some more grumbling, Aomine finished washing himself and joined Satsuki in the bathtub, lowering himself down slowly to fit the cramped space as comfortably as possible. He threw his foot on the edge of the tub, leaning backward. His eyes stayed closed.

“…If you want me to stay away from everyone for a week, I can do that,” Aomine murmured after a short contemplation time. “Though I guess it’s fine. This isn’t high school anymore. Skipping a few lessons, no big deal. I care more about the basketball practices.”

“You can play after next week, if you are feeling well,” Satsuki reminded him.

“…And with Kagami when he’s better. If Tetsu hasn’t butchered me by then.”

Satsuki leaned against her knees, smiling lightly.

“Tetsu-kun can take anyone by surprise by appearing like from thin air. So, I think if he wanted to hurt you, he would have already jabbed one in your back, Dai-chan.”

“It doesn’t mean that Tetsu wouldn’t be angry with me.”

“You boys are always so aggressive about your partners,” Satsuki sighed. “I’ll speak to Tetsu-kun for you.”

“Thanks, Satsuki.”

**Author's Note:**

> How did you like it? Please leave me a comment - any is good than none. I love to hear from other Aomomo fans!


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